cbtsam wrote:
I like your examples, but they do include blocked up shadows; it's just that those shadows work for you in your images, so it's no problem, but in Linda's it was, at least for some observers, and I can imagine many other situations where it would also be problematic. Perhaps one just has to be careful, and maybe bracketing and HDR is the solution for many situations.
In high contrast monochrome pictures, some blocking of shadows is to be expected, it should be minimised, however, I see no need to eliminate it entirely, in fact, it can be effective. The human eye in a strongly backlit situation will not perceive detail in the shadows. Why try to show what the eye can't see?